QBE, a leading international insurers and reinsurers, announced a strategic agreement with IBM to transform and manage the IT infrastructure of QBE’s UK and Western European offices.

As part of the contract, IBM will develop and maintain QBE's IT support services including its helpdesk, desktops, data centres, LAN, WAN and disaster recovery arrangements. IBM's Portsmouth data centre will manage business support and QBE’s virtualised server estate which will also reduce QBE’s carbon footprint.

Kathy Lisson, COO QBE European Operations, said; “The agreement with IBM underpins QBE’s European transformation of operational support services by delivering a scalable operations platform and raising the service levels for our global operating platforms, particularly in the area of disaster recovery. I am delighted that, after a rigorous tender process, we have appointed a world-leading partner of the calibre of IBM to work with us at QBE.”